Writer, Educator, Traveler

Menu

Decisions in Luang Prabang, Laos

It was in Luang Prabang that I had to decide how I would spend the following year of my life. Colorado State University was pressuring me with a looming deadline to choose a two-year commitment to graduate school, but as I sat on the banks of the Mekong sipping my morning coffee, pen in hand, hovering over the paper that would cement my decision, I watched orange-robed monks glide by, children play in the muddy water and several local men share a BeerLao for breakfast, and I couldn’t imagine my travels ever ending. The idea that life should be lived in the slow lane is something nearly every country besides the U.S. has figured out, and sitting among people enjoying the simplicities in life made me realize college could wait.

I signed the deferral letter and that afternoon I managed to convey to a local internet cafe owner that I needed to “send paper through air” to a place in the U.S.A. It essentially gave me another year to drag my feet on going back to school, but also a mandatory 12 months to magically become a Colorado resident while secretly living in China (okay, it’s not so secret, but shhh!).

I have no regrets, but I do often wonder if I would have made the same choice had I not been sitting in one of the most blissful cities I have visited. Luang Prabang literally means “Royal Buddha Image,” which explains the more than 30-plus local temples, and the reason I saw more monks than regular residents wandering the sidewalks.

Unfortunately, I had hit a point in my travels, nearly seven months in, where I didn’t care to ever step foot in another Buddhist temple. So I didn’t. But I did climb the 328 steps to the top of Mount Phousi where Wat Chomsi sits for the dusk-to-sunset viewing.

Luang Prabang is a mountainous city surround by two rivers – the Mekong and the Nam Khan. One thing I found particularly interesting was the outer roads that wrap around the water, where most of the fancy, French-inspired hotels can be found (Laos used to be occupied by the French), the roads are spotless and well kept.

But when I ventured into the middle of town, where shanty huts line the trash-covered streets, I saw where the locals live – literally in the midst of the tourist action, hidden by those fancy dwellings. It’s possible the excess of trash was due to a recent festival, but the contrast from one block to the next was astonishing.

That night, after I faxed my “one time only” deferral request, I ended my day the way those local men started – with a large BeerLao, the only local beer available, but one of my favorites in all of Southeast Asia – and smiled as I watched the river flow slowly by, fully aware I had made the right decision.

Great decision! School is always there, says the woman who got her Master of Education degree at age 35. I’m so glad to see that Luang Prabang still looks as serene as it did when I was there 12 years ago. Your pictures are lovely! They want to go visit there again. Thanks for writing.

It sounds like I’m following in your (well laid) footsteps! At the rate I’m going, I’ll be 35 before I’m finished with school as well, but didn’t I hear 30’s are the new 20’s somewhere? Yep, pretty sure I did! Thanks for following and commenting.